Stop-motion Research Articles

Stop-motion para la alfabetización digital en Educación Primaria

Although digital media literacy is recognized as the essential competencies required for living in a new media age, it just starts to gain focus in Taiwan's elementary education. One of the reasons is examination-oriented education, with the result that diverts scarce resources away from this informal learning. The other reason is that educators tend to think digital media education as a series of purely technical operation, which might lead student digital media learning to mindless work. Therefore, this study designed a media exhibition based on Kolb's experiential learning model for teaching students concepts of stop-motion films and techniques of film production. A design experiment involved 247 third-grade elementary students that were grouped to visit the experiential exhibition. The findings suggest that the students have improved their knowledge of stop-motion films. Analysis of these produced films also shows that they have improved their media ability to represent their ideas and communicate with others. Through the analysis of the influence of demographics on the knowledge test, the findings revealed that the experiential exhibition is more effective for female elementary students and students' relevant previous experiences may not affect their acquired knowledge. Given those results and observations, we believe that the proposed experiential exhibition is a promising way to carry out digital media literacy education in elementary schools.Although digital media literacy is recognized as the essential competencies required for living in a new media age, it just starts to gain focus in Taiwan's elementary education. One of the reasons is examination-oriented education, with the result that diverts scarce resources away from this informal learning. The other reason is that educators tend to think digital media education as a series of purely technical operation, which might lead student digital media learning to mindless work. Therefore, this study designed a media exhibition based on Kolb's experiential learning model for teaching students concepts of stop-motion films and techniques of film production. A design experiment involved 247 third-grade elementary students that were grouped to visit the experiential exhibition. The findings suggest that the students have improved their knowledge of stop-motion films. Analysis of these produced films also shows that they have improved their media ability to represent their ideas and communicate with others. Through the analysis of the influence of demographics on the knowledge test, the findings revealed that the experiential exhibition is more effective for female elementary students and students' relevant previous experiences may not affect their acquired knowledge. Given those results and observations, we believe that the proposed experiential exhibition is a promising way to carry out digital media literacy education in elementary schools. A pesar de que la alfabetización digital en medios se reconoce como una de las competencias esenciales necesarias para vivir en una nueva era de los medios de comunicación, solo acaba de empezar a ganar atención en la educación primaria de Taiwán. Una de las razones es la educación orientada a los exámenes, y como consecuencia, el que se desvíe muy pocos recursos para este aprendizaje informal. La otra razón es que los educadores tienden a pensar en la educación en medios digitales como una serie de operaciones puramente técnicas, lo que podría llevar a los estudiantes de medios digitales a aprender a trabajar sin sentido. Por lo tanto, este estudio diseñó una exhibición de contenidos basada en el modelo de aprendizaje experiencial de Kolb con el fin de enseñar a los estudiantes conceptos de videos stop-motion y técnicas de producción cinematográfica. El experimento diseñado involucró a 247 estudiantes de tercer grado de primaria que fueron agrupados para visitar la exposición experiencial. Los hallazgos sugieren una mejora en los estudiantes de su conocimiento de videos stop-motion. El análisis de los vídeos producidos también muestra que han mejorado su capacidad mediática para representar sus ideas y comunicarse con los demás. A través del análisis de la influencia de la demografía en la prueba de conocimiento, los hallazgos revelan que la exposición experiencial es más efectiva para los estudiantes de primaria femeninos, y que las experiencias anteriores relevantes de los estudiantes no deberían afectar a los conocimientos adquiridos. Teniendo en cuenta estos resultados y observaciones, creemos que la exposición experimental propuesta es una forma prometedora de llevar a cabo la educación en alfabetización digital en las escuelas primarias.

Interdisciplinary interactions within a small-scale research initiative investigating animation creation as a means of teaching and learning

ABSTRACTThis paper reports an interdisciplinary research (IDR) initiative conducted by two lecturers from different university faculties who found they shared an interest in using animations to support teaching and learning. The research comprised an exploratory pilot to test the feasibility, and to explore the impact on learning, of having undergraduates create stop-motion animations of the anatomy of the developing embryo. Whilst this challenge meets definitions of IDR, in that there was a problem of mutual concern and a systematic investigation into that problem, it may be argued that such a small team could evidence only narrow interdisciplinarity. However, the two researchers’ views, informed by their different disciplinary experience of research, were very different. This impacted on decisions about how to conduct educational research and their feelings about the authenticity of the different methods proposed. The two researchers’ reflections on this initiative show how their perspectives changed over time. It is questionable though whether true interdisciplinary integration was achieved and we conclude that a more helpful approach is to focus on the notion of ‘researcher as bricoleur’, with each research team member selecting, contributing and repurposing relevant knowledge and experience.

Exploring How Creating Stop-Motion Animations Supports Student Teachers in Learning to Teach Science

This article reports on an exploration of teaching and learning through creating rudimentary stop-motion animations set up to identify how learning opportunities involving stop-motion animations can support student learning and science teacher education. Participants were student teachers, volunteers representing both secondary and primary school teacher training courses, from three universities in England. Their discussions while making an animation themselves were recorded. Six of the secondary trainees were later interviewed after having taught using animation during placement in school. Thematic analysis of the content of the recordings and interviews showed that the student teachers view the opportunities that making an animation creates for peer discussion as the most likely to promote learning. Modeling was also seen as beneficial, though no one particular activity or stage in animation creation stood out as being more effective than another. It is the holistic process of representing and re-representing one's scientific knowledge in different modes that made animation creation appear to be so useful in bringing about and supporting learning. With respect to teacher education, the student science teachers reported that making animations themselves supported them in thinking through the process of how, as teachers, they would need to communicate the underpinning science to others. (Keywords: animation, teacher education, science teaching )

Adagio. La materialidad como elemento narrativo y simbólico

Este artículo tiene como propósito analizar cómo algunos aspectos de la materialidad de la técnica de animación stop-motion puede complementar y ayudar a su narrativa. El estudio se realizó a partir del cortometraje Adagio (Garri Bardin, 2000), de acuerdo con los conceptos de la semiótica, del cine, de la narrativa y en base a una entrevista con el director. Por lo tanto, ha sido posible comprobar cómo la expresividad puede ser presentada por medio de la utilización física, representativa y simbólica del material utilizado en la preparación de las imágenes. En consecuencia, el presente ensayo expande la comprensión de la riqueza estética de animación como un arte, una técnica y un medio de mensaje.

La escalada de la animación. Desde los escenarios de Karel Zeman al encuentro con Josef Svoboda

El teatro de marionetas forma parte indisoluble de las tradiciones de la actual República Checa y a partir de él se ha desarrollado la mayor parte del trabajo de directores de animación en stop-motion y también teatral. Karel Zeman se inicia en el cine de animación con la técnica del stop-motion y es también la que desarrollan algunos de los directores de animación contemporáneos y compatriotas suyos como Jiří Trnka y Hermína Týrlová. A su vez, en el campo teatral se desarrollan nuevas técnicas instalativas y de escenificación de la mano de la compañía la Linterna Mágica, y sobre todo del escenógrafo y uno de sus fundadores, Josef Svoboda, que conjugan actores reales con animación. Por su parte, uno de los aspectos más significativos de Karel Zeman es el trabajo de realización en diferentes espacios físicos según sus necesidades, y que nos permitirá analizar técnicas cinematográficas como el “matte-painting” que se parecen a técnicas escenográficas, y las proyecciones y teorías teatrales que son aplicables a su mundo de la animación, como el trabajo actoral y su relación con las marionetas. En este ensayo, con el análisis y la comparación de los trabajos de Zeman y Svoboda, y los diferentes escenarios observaremos que el cine de animación, el teatro y las técnicas teatrales son vasos comunicantes.

Manipulation of magnetocapillary flow of ferrofluid in a microchannel

We report the influence of stationary and moving permanent magnets on the magnetocapillary flow of ferrofluid in a microchannel. With the stationary magnet placed at the microchannel exit, a sudden increase in the meniscus velocity was observed when the ferrofluid meniscus comes under the influence of the magnet. In case of the moving magnet, for a fixed initial magnet location, the meniscus velocity remains constant when the meniscus is closer to the magnet and is directly proportional to the magnet velocity. For a given magnet velocity, irrespective of the initial location of the magnet, a fixed steady state meniscus velocity is achieved. We demonstrated forward motion, stopping and reverse motion of the ferrofluid meniscus by controlling the motion of the magnet, which could find applications in biological and chemical analysis.

Optimization of CMOS Image Sensor Utilizing Variable Temporal Multi-Sampling Partial Transfer Technique to Achieve Full-frame High Dynamic Range with Superior Low Light and Stop Motion Capability

Differential Binary Pixel Technology is a threshold-based timing, readout and image reconstruction method that utilizes sub-frame partial charge transfer technique in a standard four-transistor (4T) pixel CMOS Image sensor (CIS) to achieve HDR video with Stop Motion. This technology improves low light signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) by up to 21dB. The method is verified in silicon using a TSMC 65nm 1.1μm pixel technology 1 megapixel (MP) test chip array and is compared with a traditional 4× oversampling technique using full charge transfer. The test chip is also compared with the iPhone 6s rear view camera to show superior HDR video capability.

스톱모션 애니메이션 <갤럭시키즈> 제작 사례 연구

스톱모션 애니메이션 <갤럭시키즈> 제작 사례 연구

Visual Tactility of 3D Printing Utilization in Stop Motion Animation

Visual Tactility of 3D Printing Utilization in Stop Motion Animation

Do-It-Yourself Whiteboard-Style Physics Video Lectures

Video lectures are increasingly being used in physics instruction. For example, video lectures can be used to “flip” the classroom, i.e., to deliver, via the Internet, content that is traditionally transmitted by in-class lectures (e.g., presenting concepts, working examples, etc.), thereby freeing up classroom time for more interactive instruction. To date, most video lectures are live lecture recordings or screencasts. The hand-animated “whiteboard” video is an alternative to these more common styles and affords unique creative opportunities such as stop-motion animation or visual “demonstrations” of phenomena that would be difficult to demo in a classroom. In the spring of 2013, a series of whiteboard-style videos were produced to provide video lecture content for Georgia Tech introductory physics instruction, including flipped courses and a MOOC. This set of videos (which also includes screencasts and live recordings) can be found on the “Your World is Your Lab” YouTube channel. In this article, we describe this method of video production, which is suitable for an instructor working solo or in collaboration with students; we explore students’ engagement with these videos in a separate work. A prominent example of whiteboard animation is the “Minute Physics” video series by Henry Reich, whose considerable popularity and accessible, cartoony style were the original inspiration for our own video lectures.

A phototactic micromotor based on platinum nanoparticle decorated carbon nitride.

In this paper, we report a unique phototactic (both positive and negative) micromotor based on platinum nanoparticle decorated carbon nitride. The phototaxis relies on the self-diffusiophoretic mechanism and different surface modifications. The micromotor reported in the current study does not require the addition of any external fuels and shows versatile motion behaviour, i.e. start, stop, directional and programmable motion, which is controlled by light. In addition, since the actuation of the precipitated micromotors at the bottom of a solution using light results in the opacity changes from transparent to translucent, we anticipate that the current micromotor may have potential application in the field of smart windows.

스톱 모션 애니메이션에서 사물의 존재론에 대한 고찰

이 논문은 이미지만으로 표현하는 경우에는 주제 전달력을 위해 애니메이션에서 보여주는 모든 미장센의 요소의 중요성에 대한 목적을 가지고 연구하고자 한다. 하이데거과 샤르트르의 존재론을 기반으로 본론에서는 러시아 애니메이션 작가인 게리바르딘의 작품 중 사물의 특성을 잘 살린 작품을 선별하여 분석하였다. Conflict (1983), Vikrutasy (1987), Adagio (2000) 작품을 통해 사물의 존재의 의미를 찾아보고, 표현된 사물의 유형과 내러티브의 상관관계에 대해 고찰하였다. 게리바르딘의 작품 분석 결과 스톱 모션 애니메이션 재료의 성질이 내러티브를 구성하고, 재료 하나하나의 의미가 주제와 관련되어 음성으로 표현하지 않고 이미지만으로 소통이 될 수 있다는 것을 입증하였고, 사물에 대한 고찰로 애니메이션의 소재를 통해 주제를 표현한다는 결론을 도출하였다. 이 연구는 향후 스톱모션 애니메이션에 대해 교육을 하고자 할 때 사물의 특성에 대한 분석이 애니메이션에 중요한 영향을 끼치는가에 대한 설득을 위한 도구로 의의가 있다. Stop-Motion Animation is the work that gives lives to the objects. In order to give lives to objects and to form story line to persuade the audience, it is important that the reason of choice of color, material, and texture has something to do with the narratives. For this study, among the Garri Bardin's animation, the ones with good representation of the objects have been chosen: Conflict (1983), Fioritures (1987), and Adagio (2000). With these animations, I would like to look for the meaning of existence of the objects, and to consider the importance of the relationship between the types of objects that are represented and the narratives.

Automated view and path planning for scalable multi-object 3D scanning

Demand for high-volume 3D scanning of real objects is rapidly growing in a wide range of applications, including online retailing, quality-control for manufacturing, stop motion capture for 3D animation, and archaeological documentation and reconstruction. Although mature technologies exist for high-fidelity 3D model acquisition, deploying them at scale continues to require non-trivial manual labor. We describe a system that allows non-expert users to scan large numbers of physical objects within a reasonable amount of time, and with greater ease. Our system uses novel view- and path-planning algorithms to control a structured-light scanner mounted on a calibrated motorized positioning system. We demonstrate the ability of our prototype to safely, robustly, and automatically acquire 3D models for large collections of small objects.

Integration of the vertical warp stop motion positioning in the model-based self-optimization of the weaving process

The warp tension is a critical variable of the weaving process. If the warp tension is too high or too low, the weaving process will be interrupted. In order to find a suitable setting for the weaving machine, the experience of the operator is needed. Self-optimization routines can support the operator in finding optimal settings. Within this paper, the model-based self-optimization of the weaving process developed at Institut fur Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen University is presented. The self-optimization routine uses an automatic design of experiment to generate data for a full quadratic regression model of the characteristic values of the warp tension. Three weighted quality criteria are used to optimize the machine settings within given boundaries. An improvement is proposed by integrating the vertical warp stop motion position as a factor with high impact on the warp tension. The vertical warp stop motion position is automated and integrated into the optimization process. The adjusted routine is validated on an air jet weaving machine. The test results show that the integration of the warp stop motion position into a self-optimization routine leads to a 35% reduction of tension in the warp yarns. Compared to the existing routine, the integration of the warp stop motion position leads to a 23% higher effect on the warp tension as the target value of the optimization. The statistical validation shows that the quality of the used regression model is high. The described system also reduces the setup time of a weaving machine. Economically, the improvements mean a reduction of production costs by 22%, when producing small lot sizes. The system therefore contributes to the competitiveness of weaving mills in high-wage countries.

Microstructural Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded Thick 5083 Aluminum Alloy

Joining thick sections of aluminum alloys by friction stir welding (FSW) in a single pass needs to overcome many challenges before it comes to full-scale industrial use. Important parameters controlling the structure-properties relationships both across weld cross-section and through thickness direction were investigated through mechanical testing, electron backscatter diffraction technique, transmission electron microscopy, and occurrence of serrated plastic flow. The evolution of the properties in the weld cross-section shows that the presence of undissolved and fragmented Al $$_6$$ MnFe particles cause discrepancies in establishing the Hall-Petch relationship, and derive the strengthening from the Orowan strengthening mechanism. A ‘stop action’ friction stir weld has been prepared to understand the role of geometrical features of the tool probe in the development of the final microstructure after complete weld. Sectioning through the ‘stop action’ weld with the probe in situ displays the individual effect of thread and flat on the grain structure formation. The material at the thread surface experiences more severe deformation than the material at flat surface. Both the high-angle boundaries and mean grain size are found to be higher at the thread surface. The strain hardening capacity, stress serration amplitude, and frequency are observed to be higher in the stir zone than other weld regions.

Numerical study for the function of moving pad on tone hole acoustics

In this poster, we will discuss numerical methods for calculating a tone hole model with a moving pad of woodwind instrument by using compressible Large Eddy Simulation (LES), i.e., how to treat moving boundary problems. There are three stages of numerical methods to treat a moving pad on a tone hole. The 1st stage is the simplest method in which a dynamical mesh technique is not employed. It is so called “Stop Motion.” The numerical conditions of the distance between the pad and the top of the tone hole are set to adequate points to discuss the effect of the distance, e.g., we set it to 0 mm (i.e., the tone hole is closed by a pad), 0.5 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, and 5 mm. In the second stage, while a dynamical mesh technique is employed, on the other hand, it does not treat the condition with topological change of the boundary, i.e., in this situation, the distance changes from/into 0 mm. The third stage is a full dynamical mesh technique which provides a method for treating moving boundary problems with topological changes. As the results of calculation, we will also report how the pitch is changed with fingering, and how the fluid field and acoustical field behave around the tone hole when it is changed, comparing with experimental study on the function of tone holes reported by Keefe [1]. Keefe, D.H. ``Experiments on the single woodwind tone hole'', J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 72 688-699 (1982).

Soviet Puppet Cinema of the 1930s: from Avant-Garde to Mainstream

Evaluation of Russian animated cartoons of the 1930s wasnt positive for a long time; historians of cinema, directors, artists marked this period as the era of hard times, as formalism and imitation Disney's esthetics. However the films considered in the article have played a significant role in development of world cinema. Particularly they have influenced upon moulding of the Czech, Polish and Ukrainian stop motion animation of the post-war years. Unfortunately, some works released in the Union of puppet animation at Mosfilm studios under the leadership of A.L. Ptushko have been lost, and nowadays it is impossible to establish precisely their actual released number. In the article the experimental animation films of the second half of the 1930s which have remained on film and also in the form of editorial scripts (RGALI, Mosfilm, Gosfilmofond) are being analyzed. It should be noted/ that five films of the group shot with P. Mershin's method are restored (method of time-lapse reconstruction) by N. Mayorov and V. Kotovsky (on the remained color negatives) in the 2010s. So it is possible now to estimate innovation and originality of these films, and to define a role of school of the Soviet animation in development of the world stop motion. Special attention is drawn to the socio-cultural context accentuating peculiarities of reading the films, which formed their imagery and on specific reflection of a defence discourse in the Soviet animation of 1935-41s.

Diffract, then destroy

A new implementation of X-ray diffraction using free-electron lasers can take snapshots of biological molecules that are inaccessible via X-ray crystallography. As Philip Ball reports, the technique can even be used to create stop-motion films of dynamic molecular processes

Sound Animation, or on the Singing Stone

Abstract The starting point for the author’s reflection on sound animation is the Egyptian statue of Memnon, the stone that sang at dawn; at first sight, this appears to be an oxymoron, for stone is an allegory of the inanimate, and yet immortal, while voice is the exact opposite, the fleeting sign of life. This opposition has triggered thinking about the life of stone and about the question of whether stone – not unlike musical instruments – has its own soul or if another life sounds through it. The author touches upon cosmological theories and world mythologies, which describe the world and its origin with musical metaphors, as well as the superstring theory in contemporary physics, according to which the vibrations of superstrings determine the properties of particles and forces in nature. Oscillation, then, is an innate property of all things; hence, man is not only a constructor and animator, but must also listen to things and become an echo of their own sounds. In this relationship, the author finds the line separating classical, mainly industrial, instruments from original musical instruments that originate from the “animation” of materials: in the first case, it is the musician who expresses him- or herself, while in the latter case, it is the object that does so; the former instruments are played by musicians, the latter are animated by them. The writer is the author of musical puppet plays in which set design elements, props and puppets enable visual and theatrical expressiveness as well as the performance of music; therefore, his performances are an indivisible blend of puppet animation and music concerts.

Media-Morphosis. Intermediality, (Re-)Animation and the Medial Uncanny in Tsukamoto Shinya’sTetsuo: The Iron Man(1989)

AbstractOperating self-sufficiently on the fringes of the Japanese film industry for almost his entire career, the work of independent filmmaker Tsukamoto Shinya1 is perhaps best-known for its uncompromising, musical freneticism, as well as its corporeal spectacle. However, Tsukamoto’s dynamic clashing of visual media signifiers, such as those of theatre and television (industries within which he also operated prior to his film career during the 1980s), and how these impact upon his reflexive cinematic style, has yet to be fully considered. Drawing on Laura Mulvey’s conception of the ‘uncanny’ in response to cinema’s potential to confuse animate and inanimate, as well as Tsukamoto’s own under-discussed background in experimental street theatre and television advertising production, this essay seeks to examine Tsukamoto’s unique method of stop motion photography within his signature, self-produced featureTetsuo: The Iron Man(1989). The intention is to show that these hyperbolic sequences instil not only an uncanniness in their live-action subjects, who are rendered inanimate then reanimated to form staccato, cyborg characters, but also a ‘medial uncanny’ that simultaneously emulates and subverts the qualities of a vast range of visual media, particularly television and its associated post-medial peripherals and artefacts.